Checked my kombucha scoby weight after a year and the number shocked me

I finally weighed my main scoby hotel today... it was over 4 pounds. I started with a little piece the size of a quarter from a friend. It just kept growing every batch and I never tossed any. Now it's this huge, thick pancake taking up a whole half-gallon jar. I'm worried it's using up too much of the tea's sugar before the brew even gets going. Has anyone else had a scoby get this big and did it mess with your ferment times?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_hugo1mo ago

Honestly I think you're overthinking it lol. My main scoby is like a thick rubber mat and my brews are totally fine, maybe even faster. That big mass of cellulose is just more surface area for the good bacteria to work. If it was eating all the sugar you'd see way weaker fermentation, but my bottles still get plenty fizzy. I've never trimmed mine and my brew times have stayed the same for two years.

sean1191mo ago

Yeah, my main one is a total beast too (like a weird, slimy hockey puck). It hasn't slowed my brews down at all, and if anything, the bigger starter seems to make the first ferment more reliable. I wouldn't stress about trimming it unless it's literally too big for your jar.